Matukewicz's first Southeast Missouri State football recruiting class will include Kickapoo quarterback

Editor's note: This story has been updated to correct Kyle Snyder's class standing.

Southeast Missouri State football coach Tom Matukewicz will add a new quarterback to his roster Wednesday when Kickapoo High School quarterback Anthony Cooper makes his commitment to the Redhawks official by signing his National Letter of Intent.

Cooper, listed at 6-foot-2, 195 pounds, threw for 1,935 yards and 27 touchdowns and had 564 rushing yards and nine touchdowns his senior season.

The Chiefs finished 11-1 and fell to eventual Class 5 champion Lee's Summit West in the state quarterfinals.

Cooper is one of numerous players who officially will join Matukewicz's first recruiting class on Wednesday. Players are allowed to speak about their intentions to sign, but Southeast coaches are prevented by NCAA rules from talking about recruits.

Kickapoo coach Joel Wells described Cooper as a "dual-threat quarterback" and "excellent leader."

"He's just one of those guys you love to have on your team," Wells said. "Very good arm, very good football player. He should develop into a great football player for them."

Wells said Southeast coaches visited with Cooper shortly after Matukewicz was hired Dec. 18.

"He had actually visited there last summer, just came through and visited and liked it," Wells said. "But the new coaching staff really made him feel good about it, and he felt like they had an opportunity to build something special there with the new staff and everything."

Cooper was a two-year starter at Kickapoo, a public high school in Springfield, Mo. Wells said Cooper regularly drew the attention of recruiters, but scholarship offers arrived late in his career. Missouri State was one school that showed interest in him, but Wells said he believes "SEMO was the place he wanted to be."

"We were 6-5 when he was a junior, and this year we were 11-1 and made a run to the state quarterfinals, losing to the eventual state champion," Wells said. "I think he caught a lot of people's eye his senior year, and so that probably put him a little later in the process than some other guys."

Southeast, under former coach Tony Samuel, never settled on a starting quarterback a year ago.

Redshirt sophomore Scott Lathrop started eight games, while junior Kyle Snyder started four games.

Lathrop completed 99 of 175 pass attempts for 1,049 yards and 11 touchdowns. He had 532 yards rushing and two touchdowns. Snyder completed 49 of 105 pass attempts for 617 yards and six touchdowns while rushing for 127 yards and two touchdowns.

Matukewicz will speak about the signees at a 4:30 p.m. news conference Wednesday and again at a National Signing Day party scheduled to begin at 5:30 p.m. at Port Cape Girardeau.

The party is open to the public and an appetizer buffet will be available for $5 per person.

Connor Alexander, a 6-foot-3, 240-pound tight end from Olathe East High School in Olathe, Kan., is also expected to sign with the Redhawks.

"He was a two-year starter for me," Olathe East coach Jeff Meyers said. "He played tight end and defensive end, and just did an outstanding job, one of my team captains. He's very athletic. I believe tight end is the position that he'll be coming to Southeast Missouri State with the intentions of playing. They're excited about him. I think that through his recruiting process he said that was definitely an area of need, and so he's excited to be able to come and show what he can do."

Alexander, who also drew interest from Missouri State, the University of Central Missouri and Central Arkansas, caught 17 passes for 326 yards and five touchdowns during his senior season in a run-dominated offense.

"He has very good hands," Meyers said. "I'm more of a traditional offensive set. We ran with a true tight end, but he has the athleticism to flex out into a spread. We did that some. He also can do what some people call H-back. He's big, but he's not a giant. He has the capabilities of being that 6-foot-3, 265-270 tight end that catches the ball very well, but he also has great blocking skills."

Other players the Southeast Missourian has learned intend to sign today include:

Hunter Bledsoe: Bledsoe, from Briarcrest Christian High School in Eads, Tenn., is listed at 6-foot-2, 223 pounds. He played outside linebacker and fullback in high school. His commitment to Southeast was reported by The Commercial Appeal in Memphis.

Gavin McCrary: McCrary, from Houston High School in Germantown, Tenn., is listed at 6-foot-5, 235 pounds. He played tight end and defensive end in high school. His commitment to Southeast was reported by The Commercial Appeal in Memphis.

Josh Kinzer: Kinzer, from Owasso High School in Owasso, Okla., is listed at 6-foot-1, 205 pounds. He played free safety in high school.

Brad Ivey: Ivey, from Bishop Miege High School in Shawnee Mission, Kan., is listed at 6-foot-2, 220 pounds. He played inside linebacker in high school. His commitment to Southeast was reported by The Kansas City Star.

Luther Wright: Wright, from East St. Louis High School in East St. Louis, Ill., is listed at 6-foot-4, 297 pounds. He played offensive line in high school. The Flyers lost in the Illinois Class 6A state semifinals.

Keari Brown: Brown, from West Memphis Christian High School in West Memphis, Ark., is listed at 6-foot-7, 208 pounds. He played wide receiver, defensive end and punter in high school. His commitment to Southeast was reported by the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.

Darrell Monroe: Monroe, from Caruthersville High School, is listed at 6-foot-2, 220 pounds. He played running back and linebacker in high school. Monroe gained 1,430 yards on 130 carries during his senior season while scoring 25 touchdowns, including five through the air.

Demontrail Clark: Clark, from Charleston High School, is listed at 5-foot-9, 160 pounds. He played cornerback and running back in high school. He made 48 tackles and three interceptions from his cornerback spot and gained 900 yards on the ground on offense. He has excelled in the classroom as well, earning a 3.8 GPA.

Colten Proffer: Proffer, from Jackson High School, is listed at 5-foot-9, 175 pounds and will join the Redhawks as a preferred walk-on, meaning he was invited to walk on by Southeast's coaching staff. He played running back in high school. Proffer gained 1,132 yards on 135 carries and made 39 receptions for 799 yards.

Zach Stagner: Stagner, from Central High School, is listed at 6-foot-1, 225 pounds and will commit to be a preferred walk-on. He played defensive end and offensive guard in high school and was the Tigers' long snapper. He made 32 tackles on defense, including five for a loss, and recovered a fumble.

Jeff Teel: Teel, from Bartlett High School in Bartlett, Tenn., is listed at 6-foot-6, 215 pounds. He played tight end in high school. His commitment to Southeast was reported by The Commercial Appeal in Memphis.

Quentin Michel: Michel, from Poplar Bluff High School, is listed at 6-foot-4, 265 pounds. He played right tackle in high school. Michel made 36 tackles on defense, including seven for a loss, and forced a fumble. The Mules averaged 4.5 yards per carry and running back Bi Nguyen rushed for a record 1,785 yards this season. He will sign at a later date because snow and ice postponed activities at the school for Wednesday.

Nicholas Michel: Michel, from Poplar Bluff High School, is listed at 6-foot-4, 285 pounds and is the twin brother of Quentin Michel. He played right guard in high school and made 51 tackles, including 11 for a loss, on defense to go along with three sacks. He is expected to sign later this week.